Red Sox throw away Game 3 in 9th inning

Saturday

Oct 26, 2013 at 6:00 AMOct 27, 2013 at 1:39 AM

In 1919, the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series. In 2013, the Red Sox are throwing it away. Boston lost its second straight game to the Cardinals on Saturday night with a bad throw to third playing a key part in the defeat, this one by a 5-4 score.

By Bill Ballou, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

In 1919, the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series. In 2013, the Red Sox are throwing it away.

In Game 2 it was Craig Breslow airmailing a throw to third. This time, it was Jarrod Saltalamacchia making an unnecessary throw there in the ninth, with St. Louis scoring the winning run as a result.

The Cardinals lead the series, 2 games to 1. Game 4 is scheduled for 8:15 tonight here at Busch Stadium.

Saltalamacchia's throw did not allow St. Louis' Allen Craig to score, technically. Craig was awarded home plate when Will Middlebrooks was in his way as Craig tried to score, Saltalamacchia's throw having gone past third.

“It's a bang-bang play,” John Farrell said of Saltalamacchia's decision to throw the ball. “As it turns out, we have forced a couple of throws to third base that have proved costly. Tonight was a costly throw.”

The score was 4-4 going into the last of the ninth.

The Red Sox had battled back from 2-0 down, and 4-2 down, to forge the tie. Along the way, Sox pitchers had escaped several sticky messes to keep the score reasonable.

The last mess started when rookie reliever Brandon Workman gave up a one-out single to Yadier Molina. Koji Uehara took over to face Craig, who was pinch hitting. Craig doubled to left and the Cards had men at second and third.

Jon Jay hit a ground ball that Dustin Pedroi made a terrific diving play on, getting up to throw Molina out at home. Craig tried for third and Saltalamacchia's lousy throw left Middlebrooks stretched out on the ground. Craig stumbled over him and third base umpire Jim Joyce called obstruction immediately. The play continued but it didn't matter. The game was over then.

“With the defensive player on the ground, with or without intent, it's still obstruction. You'd probably have to ask Middlebrooks on that one, if he could have done anything. But that's not in our determination.”

Crew chief John Hirschbeck said that intent is not a factor in calling the play, adding, “Once (the fielder) has the opportunity to field the ball, he can no longer obstruct the runner in any way. That's basically the rule.”

“It's a tough way to have a game end, particularly of this significance,” John Farrell said, “when Will is trying to dive inside the stop the throw. I don't know how he gets out of the way when he's lying on the ground. And when Craig trips over him, I guess by the letter of the rule you could say it's obstruction.

“That's a tough pill to swallow.”

Middlebrooks was mystified by the call and winds up looking bad even though the mistake was clearly Saltalamacchia's in making the throw.

“I had to go into the runner to get the ball,” Middlebrooks said. “There was nowhere else for me to go. There is nothing I would have done differently.”

The replay showed Middlebrooks lifting his legs in what seemed like intent to trip Craig, but the third baseman said he was just trying to get up. It didn't matter, anyway, according to Joyce.

The return throw after the ball got away beat Craig but it was close, which made the obstruction call stand. If Craig had been out by 20 feet, plate umpire Dana DeMuth could have ruled him out.

Jake Peavy, who went the first four innings for Boston, said, “I'm shocked that something of this magnitude can be decided like that. It just doesn't seem right.”

Peavy gave up two runs in the first inning and St. Louis added two more in the seventh. Boston got one in the fifth, another in the sixth and tied it with two in the eighth.

The Sox were outhit, 12-6, so were fortunate it was even tied, and the game ended with Mike Napoli never being used as a pinch hitter for Workman in the top of the ninth with Trevor Rosenthal pitching, a move Farrell regretted.

“In hindsight,” he said, “probably should have double-switched after Salty made the final out the previous inning…I felt like if we get into an extended situation, which that game looked like it was going to – held Nap back in the event that spot came up again.”

That was one mistake. Saltalamacchia's throw was another, and Boston has two chances left to take the series back to Fenway Park.